FORMER England football ace Kenny Sansom has confessed he is close to killing himself as he battles with alcoholism and homelessness.

Drunk and dishevelled, these shocking images show the ex-Arsenal defender's spectacular fall from grace.

Once dubbed one of the country's finest defenders, the 56-year-old has now resorted to sleeping rough in a park and asking his friend for "tablets" in a desperate plea to end his own life after he lost his house and belongings.

Mr Sansom says he is now ready to battle his demons face on and he believes these pictures could help save his life.

It comes weeks after Mr Sansom was thrown into a South London police cell following a row with his girlfriend after downing five bottles of wine.

In an emotional but candid interview with the Sunday Mirror the father-of-three revealed he never got over his split from his wife of 29 years, Elaine.

SUNDAY MIRROR

Kenny swigs from a bottle of wine

I just don't want to be around, I don't want to be living the horrible life that I'm living

Kenny Sansom

He told the newspaper: "Money, my ex-wife, there's a lot of things I could have done better. It's my fault, all the things I feel sad about, it's my fault.

"I just don't want to be around, I don't want to be living the horrible life that I'm living."

Mr Sansom married his childhood sweetheart Elaine at the young age of 20 and they went on to have three children together, Kate, Natalie and Harry.

But the couple separated when his battle with booze escalated and he cheated on her.

He said: "I lost my wife, that hurts me a lot. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

“It’s my own fault. I ain’t gonna blame anyone else because I did it. I didn’t mean to do it, but I did."

Following their split, Mr Sansom met his girlfriend Denise Mullins in Marbella.

But after failing to overcome his demons, she threw him out and he was forced onto the streets.